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Google Invites You to Be Their +1

Today, Google officially launched their new “+1” feature to select users. Google’s first attempt at a social product is designed to rival Facebook’s “like” and Twitter’s “retweet.” Think of it as a “like” button for the web. Once you’re signed into your Google account, you will see the +1 feature next to each search result. Click it and your friends, contacts and the rest of the web will be able to “find the best stuff when they search,” says Google.

The +1 builds onto the company’s existing search algorithm, which is designed to favor those sites with the most relevant links from other sites. It’s just another useful way of providing users with the most popular search results for a given query. While any Google user can see the +1’s, if you want to show yours, you need a public Google profile. “Your +1’s are stored in a new tab on your Google profile. You can show your +1’s tab to the world, or keep it private and just use it to personally manage the ever-expanding record of things you love around the web,” says the Google +1 Button page. This should help address the current media buzz regarding privacy concerns. The Google Social connections and +1’s page explains that only people in your Gmail chat list, My Contacts in Google Contacts and the people you’re following in Google Reader and Google Buzz can see your +1’s.

You can also +1 ads that pop up with your search. Whether you +1 the ad or the page of a site, both are awarded to the site, thus raising its relative popularity. So how do you +1 something? All you have to do is click the +1 button. It will then turn blue and you will see a message box confirming your +1. The How to +1 something page elaborates, “Your +1’s will be automatically added to the +1’s tab in your profile and will be viewable across the Web. While your +1’s are public, the +1’s tab on your Google profile is viewable only to you unless you specify otherwise.”

The +1 feature has been met with a lot of criticism since Google made its first announcement. Some believe it will be a huge hit since publishers can use it to boost their search ranking, while others hypothesize that it will fall into the same social black hole as Buzz and Wave. We’ll just have to wait and see how Google’s latest experiment unfolds. Blue Interactive Agency builds SEO-friendly websites for clients that help improve their Google page rank. Our SEO Copywriting services employ blog strategies that serve to constantly improve your ranking through keyword building. For more information on how Blue can work for you, please call 954-779-2801.